Existentialism in Thirty Minutes--Wow!

So I just finished up my first week of teaching seniors. This week tested my nerves in more ways than I can possibly say. However, I can say with confidence that I came out on top. And, I am a little bit tougher, too.

I was mostly nervous about Friday: we are reading The Stranger and I wanted to give my students some insight into existentialism. This way, they might feel more compassion towards the misunderstood and maybe-mundane Meursault. I didn't want to lecture them, so I broke them up into groups and asked them to share everything they knew about the word. Many students looked at the prefix "Ex" and thought about "existence" and "exit." Then I gave each group a cartoon (this was the fun part). Students made predictions about the message of the cartoon and what it said about existentialism. After that we took very brief notes followed by a quick and fun quiz -- "Are YOU an existentialist?" I was shocked to see so many students engaged by this, but I shouldn't have been. Of course connecting the philosophy to their lives and personal belief systems would make the lesson more engaging.

But I still haven't hit my stride or sweet spot with this class. Many of them are extremely disillusioned with school and counting down the minutes until graduation. I just need to keep chugging for now. Every day is a challenge, but luckily for me I like challenges. Now that the transitional period is over, I am eager to see how they act. I will keep updating.